Volvo S80: Bargain barge? Lovely 5-pot noises 

Lovely car, pity about the stickers

I used to work for the highway agency on a clean up crew back in the early 2000s, an almost new s80 in the same colour pulled out into oncoming traffic and was struck by a loaded hgv. The front was as you would expect was totally destroyed but amazingly both front doors opened easily and the cabin was completely intact. Both occupants survived unharmed. Very strong car!.

Wonderful to see our implemented rear trunk space test gaining broader usage. The S80 is truly a reliable and durable car, designed for northern conditions but with an American style. Excellent analysis of the outstanding car.

Even in 2023 I still see some of these on the road at 20+ years old...they must be reliable and tough!

Lovely motor Ian sounded beautiful. Not sure about all the stickers though. Volvo were so well built you could bounce a tank off them.

Great to see you reviewing one of these. I have a 2004 in black with the D5 diesel 5 pot. Despite being a diesel when you plant your right foot you still get awesome 5 pot sounds. Mine is probably somewhat rare as it has a manual gearbox and a beige fabric interior (I'm not keen on leather seats). I love my s80 and don't think I will ever sell it. Gives me over 50mpg too!

4:40 Those steering column stalks in these were really flimsy in an otherwise solidly built car. We had two V70s in the family and the indicator stalk broke in both of them, never seen anything like that in any other car. Strange because a lot of effort seemed to have been put in making the cars feel solid. Lovely sounding engines those 5-cylinders. The 10 valve in the 850 had the purest sound in my opinion, which is entirely not biased by having owned one. Great car apart from the electrical problems.

Everybody should have at least one Volvo in their life. Just such a relaxing and safe place to be, but not lacking get up and go when required. Capable of prodigious mileage too!

The Swedes invented daytime running lights for safety but I read some years later, in Auto Express, that the Swedes found they made absolutely no difference to their accident rates.

Always liked these cars, and the contemporary s60. Thanks for showing us, Ian.

Who doesn't love an old Swedish barge.So much better than the rubbish they sell now .I noticed how much you loved it Ian,with your right boot stuck to the floor for a good period of the road test😊

Volvo interiors were lovely back then

I drive its smaller sibling, a 2008 S60 D5 with the 6 speed auto. Every time I get in I'm greeted by this lovely smell of the two tone leather. While the interior has nice looking and feeling materials, after 15 years it has become very squeaky, despite extensive efforts by me to remedy that. It annoys the hell out of me how every single somewhat sharper road irregularity results in these loud creaks from the dash. Together with the fact that the diesel engine is not the most refined in term of vibrations, it makes for the quite the love-hate relationship I have with this car :) The 5 pot noise is very nice, and is actually one of the reasons I decided to replace my 2004 V70 D5 with this car. With all the engine downsizing there's nothing modern that can replace it I'm afraid (not liking BMW or Mercedes), so I'll hold onto it a little longer :)

I ran a 53 plate V70 when I was still in the UK up to 2017. Had same 5 pot engine and it was absolute epic vehicle. Super reliable, amazing comfort level and being an estate (wagon) it would hold an amazing amount of material (as the local builders merchants realized on my frequent trips while renovating my house).

Just me or does the interior look much more appealing than many modern cars ?

As a die-hard 740 owner, great to see a bit of Volvo action on the channel! 👍

I've got a 2005 2.5T Auto - sounds, runs and drives like a dream. 115k on the clock, full service history - £1300.00 it cost me this year! This is one that they'll have to prise from my cold, dead hands.

Thanks for this, I am a massive Volvo fan, I have owned 4 in my driving life, still have a 54 plate V50, this S80 reminds me in looks both outside and internally of an X reg S40 I had back in the day

I used to borrow an old S80 when my car was getting a service. It had an indicated 300k on the clock. It ran perfectly. It felt a little loose as if everything had relaxed. The leather, the A/C and heated seats welcomed me into the beast. It was a pleasure to drive even when the weather was horrible outside. You just knew it would get you home. My heart beat relaxed down to a near slumber level. I really liked that car. I offered to buy it, but the garage said then they would have to go out and buy another one....why would they bother.

If you want a mile muncher there is nothing better out there. Last month I drove my 2.5T (210hp / 236lbft) on a European trip doing 2321 miles in 7 days. The last day was 823 miles from Meersburg on the shore of Lake Constance (Germany) to just north of Derby (Uk) and the wife and I got out feeling as relaxed as when we'd got in it.

A excellent review as always Ian and Carly, makes me miss my D5 S60 i had a few years ago.

Around 15 years ago I picked up a high specced S80 D5 with the Volvo engine for a comparative song because while it was less than 3 years old, it had around 90,000 miles on the clock. I had it for about 7 years and when I finally replaced it, it had over 250,000 miles. The engine and gearbox were fine, the electrics had started plaing games. In all likelihood, if that didn't happen I'd still own the car. Amazingly comfortable seats for wafting long distances.

I drove a V8 AWD S80 back in 2005 for 2 months here in Sydney Australia. It was a company car at Keune & Nagel where I worked at the time. It was a lovely car to drive absolutely loved it, and that V8 was sooo silky smooth and noise it made wow. From memory it was developed by Yamaha. The S80 made for a commuter car traveling from the southern Highlands to Sydney every day, I just ate up the road.

I think I remember the Audi advert for their 5 cyl engines which they insisted had the economy of a 4 with the performance of a 6 but turned out to be in truth the performance of a 4 with the economy of a 6, and I think some of the more laid back motoring journalists of the time made no bones about pointing this out. It was great seeing the bought down a peg or two.

Lovely motor. I had an S60 T5 for 10 years and it was brilliant. I only got rid of it because I had 2 young children and needed more practicality

Absaloutly brilliant video ian miss hubnut ❤👍what a lovely old car I used to have an 850 mine had a 2.5 in it I bought when I lived in Spain brilliant

I have a 2000 S80 T6. 280,000 miles still going strong. Drive it daily.

This are awesome cars and I'm on my 2nd S80. I picked up an S80 T6, the 2.8L twin-turbo one, about a decade ago and ran it into the ground. During Covid my Jag XJ6 3.0L decided to die, so I picked up an '03 2.4L petrol S80 like the one in the video. It had under 40K on the clock and a single owner from new and only cost me a couple of grand. It's being super reliable and comfy, including a 2K road trip around Scotland starting off from Hampshire.

I was tempted by the 4.4L V8 2006/07 version......but the £695 tax and fuel figures brought me swiftly back to earth!

Really good video, well done with the camera Ms HubNut 😉

I've had a weird arc with these cars. Grew up with Volvos, so of course these had my attention too. At first i applauded the design, then some years later i felt they looked really dated..horribly so. ..and now i quite like them again. Anyways: I've stayed clear of them because they're far too expensive to own in my country, but listening to you praise this car doesn't make it easier. ..and then there is the choice between the technically interesting 6 cylinder sewing machine, and this lovely sounding 5 cylinder. But you're right. Looking at how cheap they are, many will be dropped simply for being to expensive to fix. Now is a good time to buy them. Great work as always Ian.

I had the pleasure of using a nearly new one of these for a week. Wrexham to Swindon to London to Essex and back to Wrexham, it ate miles like few other cars I’ve ever driven. The only downsides were the terrifying fuel consumption and the worry about scratching it (it was the MD’s) due to its size; it didn’t get on with packed city streets, supermarket car parks or multi-storeys. My brother’s just bought a V90, and I don’t think the seats are *quite* as comfortable as they were in the S80, although it definitely has the same wafty vibe which, as I get older, is becoming more and more appealing.

Ian you are correct, the 6 pot did indeed find it's way into the Freelander 2, but was not a very popular option and is quite rare.

Great video, love those old S80s. I've had a S60 and two V70s from that generation, all D5s. Brilliant cars ... But I could quite fancy an S80 one day.

Brilliant review as always. If only new cars sold today were this well made comfortable.

Quite a nice car that, as mentioned by another viewer ruined by the stickers lol

I'm wanting a Volvo now! Great review Ian...

Had to do a bit of a double take watching this, as that's the same colour as my old 2.4 S80 and only a couple of digits off on the registration! Lovely barges, excellent stereos and that lovely 5 pot sound. Bought mine in 2016 for £375, don't think you can find them for that price now, haha.

Nice car! Shame about the stickers... 👀😬

I had an S80 T6.... 2.8 twin-turbo straight-six putting 272bhp through the front wheels. Utterly bonkers. Dipsomaniac thirst. Always needing something, usually expensive and only available from the main dealer. Supremely comfortable and the most incredible mile-eater. P2 platform, same as the first S60/XC90 and Mk2 V70/XC70. Derived from the 850 platform.

This is really making me want another S80, even though the one I had was an absolute nightmare! I've had 740s, 850s, a 460 and still have a 240, 850 and S70, the S80 was the only troublesome Volvo I've had but always felt special and great to drive on the occasions it worked properly!

Great video, Ian and Carly. 9:12 Oooh, a wave of nostalgia for my 1994 850 2.4 10v 5-speed manual Estate as you gave this test S80 the full beans. There was nothing, except if you could afford an Audi and the even bigger bills that went with one, quite like that soundtrack as "he" a.k.a my Big Red Box used to accelerate hard in an overtaking manoeuvre... or to hum along the A1 autobahn at pretty ridiculous speeds in Lower Saxony and Hamburg. I did 151,000 miles in 8 years in him and he only went because of his rather expensive drink problem (well I thought just under 28mpg was 'expensive' - at the time) and IIRC some big bills for curing leaks. BTW I remember passing you in the greeting area at the Brooklands Social in Surrey a few years ago; I saw Betty parked up there, and I said to you "definitely see a resemblance in Betty to a Volvo S80" and you smiled and agreed 😀😀.

Nice noises. Nice wood bits too. Seems a pleasant place to be.

My dad had one, the same year and colour, but the 2.4 5 cylinder diesel. It became my car when dad was too old to drive. was a lovely car...very economical for a big car, and just ssssoooo comfortable.

Don’t be too upset my 2.9 I6 ate two ecu’s and was still never right. I swapped it for a mk3(2) Mondeo and could not have been happier. The Mondeo was a much better handler, far more efficient and had far more power (on tap)

Great video. I have a V50 T5 AWD 6 speed manual and it's a great practical car that's also capable of mischief.

My previous daily driver was a 2001 V70 with that same engine but manual (after having owned a 940 diesel and a 740 2.3 auto). Indeed the comfort and quality of the interior in Volvos were perfect at that time. You don't need to wring the engine indeed, but without the advantage of a torque convertor it is very tempting to do it anyways. I must say the number of speeding tickets I got in a year went up when I had that V70, and back down again when I sold it again. That 5-pot combined with the handling and comfortable interior made it really really tempting to drive drastically faster than the speed limit with just a thumb and a finger on the wheel. Perfect car for people who do a lot of German Autobahn, but not exactly in Belgium where the average speed limit is 70km/h (a little over 40mph) on roads that were built for 90 or even 120km/h speed limits back in the day. It wasn't the greatest to maintain though, repairs were always quite expensive. I honestly preferred my 740 2.3 automatic: still plenty of power, assisted through the torque convertor, rear wheel drive, very short turning radius (can't be said from the 5-pot Volvos), and although not the greatest in handling, the comfort was probably as good as it can get with coil spring suspension.

I had an '05 XC-70 Ocean Race, definitely one of the best cars I've ever owned. The trunk swallowed everything known to man, it was comfortable and incredibly solid and reliable

I have v70 d5 2.4 auto only brought it in July very smooth and quick police used to use these as traffic cars

another great video has always Ian and miss hubnut and hublets and hubmutts 👍

I had a 2006 (very late 1st generation) D5 Auto. Loved it and thoroughly regret trading it in for a Toyota Yaris. One of those blanking switches was for auto fold mirrors.

The SATs are luxury cruise there, and I, especially like the styling of the first generation. It looks so much one night stand S 60.

I have an S80 with the 2.5 and a turbo. Driving it for 4 months now. Loving it.

Always preferred the look of the first S60 at the time but warming to these, especially after hearing that 5 pot 20v.... Niceeee! Be cool if you could find a 360 GLT a surprisingly good warmish hatch, used to have a nice rorty sound from the 2.0. good review👍

The Volvo that got me into Volvo's! Parents had a pre-facelift S80 just like the one in the video in exactly the same spec albeit on a Y Plate and upon taking delivery of it and driving it from London back to Scotland, I fell in love with it pretty much straight away. Decided to look at some for sale for myself as a second or third car once we got home (I was first car shopping) when I stumbled across another underrated and forgotten Swedish Gem that is the MK1 C70 Coupe! Did quotes to see how much it'd cost to run and it wound up being cheaper than everything else I was looking at so decided to do the unthinkable. Long story short, I've had my 'Saffron Orange Pearl' C70 Coupe for coming up to 8 years now and I love it to pieces. If it wasn't for the original S80, I wouldn't of even took notice of the C70 or even realised it even existed!

Great review. Have had several S40's, three V40's, a V70, C70 and for the last two years my favourite of them all... My S80. I absolutely love it. I went for a pretty rare 2007 3.2 V6, which is the ultimate in quality wafting. Terrible mpg (around 23) but made up for by the plethora of gadgets, including heated and cooling front seats. You'd be more than welcome to take it for a spin... I'd love to see you review it and compare it to the previous model. All the best, keep up the good work and maybe see you again at Ponterwyd garage 😊

The HubNut fleet needs an S80...

Great video, love all the Volvos! I had a 440 Turbo which was a joy to own and drive. Still regret selling that one.

An interesting fact for Mr HubNut is that the platform for this car went on to underpin a variety of very HubNut American cars. Ford turned the Volvo P2 platform into the D3 and from it would underpin the Ford Five Hundred (later Taurus), Lincoln MKS and many other cars you would not believe could come from something that originated under a conservative Swedish saloon. By the way, the auto gearboxes for the first generation S80 were either Aisin Warner (5 speed) for the 5 cylinder and GM (4 speed) for the 6 cylinder engines.

"The driver is on the train!" so much fun going in when you two review a car. And as a Swede I was never into this one then. Then! When I lie down at the bed at the psycologists to analyse why not, it cooks down to lack Volvo box-shape. Too wild for me with the hips, but indeed now I see them as a real spice to the design! You know of course the designer was british and talks a lot about it over on BigCar YT channel. And what not? I had a Citroen GS once! All is possible! Lovey your channel, thanks!

A great review and a lovely car.

I had a lux D5 with barely any blanking plugs along with the phone controls, upgraded stereo which was pretty decent at the time! Was a great car and is still on the road to the person I sold it to 10 years ago, now with 250,000 miles. Great car

Nice one Ian. These were like chalk and chees compared to the older models, in fact when the came out I did wonder initially if they were just badged up cars from some other manufacturer. So different. A very decent example this one although it would be a nightmare should you wish to take the stickers off. Thanks for sharing.

The enginge sounds great. Reminds me really my fathers Audi 100 2.3 E. Typical sound of a 5-cylinder. Sometimes I reduced the sound of the radio just to listen to the engine noise.

I thought the wind was going to catch that boot lid 😂

My Favourite Volvo

Volvo actually used to sell a taxi spec S80 with an even wider opening rear doors, a bigger battery and Nivomat dampers. Those were lovely.

The headlight wiper action at the end!

Drunkenness aside, the camerawork is really good in this, great Hubteam

Drove the road at 12:20 in my nearly 3t camper conversion this summer, still surprised I got up as smoothly as I did!

I had an almost identical car - lovely to drive. A flat out drive from Germany to the coast to catch a ferry did for a wheel bearing and finally a £600 repair bill at MoT meant it had to go.

The 5 cylinder Volvos are lovely! Have owned 850, s60 and V70 with different 5 cylinder engines. The non turbos sounds the best imo. Driving electric today but I miss the sound of those! Wish I hade somewhere to store a bunch of them!

Great video! Glad you’ve driven a P2 on the channel. They are fantastic cars. If you want a go in my 05 S60 2.0T auto for comparison, you know where I am 😊

When Ford purchased the car division of Volvo we owned a three year old S70, so my brother called to congratulate us on our new Ford... The inside trunk release wasn't so much a feature as a legal requirement on all cars, at least in Canada and the US. We owned several Volvos over the years, including a couple of five cylinders (a normally aspirated S70 and a turbo XC70 Cross-Country) as well as the larger 3.2L inline six (another Cross Country). I enjoyed the sound of the fives, they also felt light and nimble (yes, even the Cross-country) where the inline six felt ponderous. In fact, the six always felt slower than the five while using shameful quantities of fuel. In Canada the S80 does not have a great reputation and is considered best avoided due to expensive issues with the rear suspension on the first couple of production years and electronic issues that plagued the car throughout its life, something that also reared its ugly head on our five-cylinder XC and eventually led to its demise. For me, the best five-cylinder Volvo is undoubtedly the S70. Now that we both drive German SUVs, my wife does complain that she misses her Volvo seats.

I used to have an S60 which was a good car. Loved the dash and centre console. Just had a quick look on autotraderthingy and there's an S80 for £1600 with the reg S80 NUT. New HubNut fleet member perhaps.

I do agree that the S60 was the more appealing aesthetically but having watched this review I find that the S80 isn't the barge I thought it would be. I can imagine that it will be a delight to throw 300 miles of motorway miles at without giving you any aches or tiredness.

Pretty sure a V8 was offered in these too? A rare option designed and built by Yamaha?

I had a 3.0l Straight six N/A : nothing more than the IL 5 except silence and more consumption. Have this 2,5 (144 HP) on my S70 now and I LOVE it. I think the exhaust may have a little leak because it's noisier than should be on this S80. The P2 chassis came also as V70, technically it's the S80 SW and 60 was the baby S80.

I've got a 1995 850 2.5 10v, it's not particularly quick but the 5 cylinder noise is brilliant. It hits the pocket bad though

Love our tiny welsh roads. Like volvos also 😊

Great car, my Y reg S80 S5 was one of the best cars I have owned. The 5 cylinder 170hp petrol engine and styling gave it character and the interior and ride great comfort. I then had the second generation D5 and the styling and engine change meant it lost all of its character.

What a lovely looking area

Nice 5 cylinder Pitchoo! 😂 The petrol sounds nice I found the D5 very characterful to drive, woofley I think may be the best description 🤔

I had an S60 2.4l 5 pot and as much as i loved it the bills for repair soon got old so i switched it for an Alfa Gt 3.2.

Lovely car. Reminds me of my dad's Audi 100. That had a five pot too.

I have a 2013 d3 s80 I just love it so nice to drive soft ride eats the miles on motorways

I have a 2004 V70 with the same Euro 3 D5 but with a manual and it really is close to being the perfect car (if it was AWD then it would be perfect). A beautiful soundtrack, loads of room, excellent glass headlights, superb stereo especially with the premium speakers with easy Bluetooth mod, easy 55mpg, comfy...literally all boxes ticked. Not sure why one hasn't been on the HubNut fleet. The pre 05 are better than the facelift due to glass headlights, slightly less complicated electronics too and the earlier D5s don't have the swirl flap problem too.

Was behind this this morning on the A12 the sticker situation has grown since you took this out.

I had a Cop Pursuit Spec 2001 S60 T5 back in 2007 Gorgeous car. With full spec including phone package. It was basically a 250bhp Mobile phone!!!

Saw a s80 T6 AWD today in Burnley, thought it was a false badge on the back, this has changed my mind.

Yayyyyyyyyy ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ i own an S60...thank you for the review 😊😊😊 You didnt mention there 2 a/c ducts for the back passengers to cool off loool 😅

On my third S80 first was a 52 plate 2.4 petrol 170 bhp. The other two are the later generation d5 auto now have a d3 auto

Love the design on these! Never owned one yet.

The diesel 5 pot volvos had locomotive torque levels 😊😊😊

23 years ago, I bought similar S80 ( same color), however I've ordered a light leather interior, as the replacement of my old 740GL ( 1987). The S80 was a real joy to drive, sure not sporty but a real distance eater. The sound of the 5 banger, when flooring the throttle 😂😂😂😂. Fuel economy wasn't to bad even. Quality was not totally up to the expectations. The soft lack did let go after a few years and the front tires diddend last very long( probably more a drivers foot problem 😂)

I have the 2.4 litre D5 diesel. Never heard a diesel like it. Goes well, too.

I was mightily tempted by a V60 3 litre turbo import in a lovely metallic blue with cream leather not too long ago. Just over 300bhp going through the front wheels via an auto box. Common sense ruled and I bought a new bathroom instead..

I've had a number of Volvos, including A 02 reg S80 - lovely old barge. I did have two cars write themselves off on the rear bumper of a 240 (obviously no damage to the Volvio).

They were a nice car, but I had horrendous engine problems I had the 5 cylinder engine and it had oil pressure issues which resulted in the engine blowing on the motorway

It makes me sad every time I see faded black plastic. Give that girl some trim restorer, there's some really good ones that presist semi-permanently these days.